I saw this Run Run Shaw production on YT, where it was posted as being from 1958--evidently confusing it with a different "Oily Man" film from that year which appears (as far as I can tell) to be lost. They and other films are based on a figure of Malay folklore, although here the "Oily Man" doesn't turn up until the last 15 minutes or so...and you could say it's an irrational appearance, since the hero has been wronged exclusively by men, yet as the "Oily Man" he avenges himself only on women.
Anyway, before it becomes a monster movie (with a great, bizarre ending) in the last lap, this is an odd mixture of other things. It starts out as a sort of "Hunchback of Notre Dame" thing in a remote village, where bullies torment the artistically talented but shunned protagonist because he is misshapen of face and body. When things go from bad to worse, suddenly he is in a studio-soundstage "heaven" of sorts, where he is allowed one wish--to be handsome--and falls in love with a beautiful elf. (At least that's how she's identified in the subtitles.)
This section is goofy and fun, with musical numbers. Unfortunately, he is not allowed to stay there, and his triumphant return to Earth as a good-looking, elegantly dressed man goes wrong when he breaks the one rule he had promised to observe in exchange for his physical transformation. His punishment is to become..."The Oily Man." Though as I said, it doesn't make much sense that in this guise he runs around attacking innocent women, rather than his erstwhile tormenters.
This is a lively, eccentric and polished movie that doesn't fit into any precise genre category, but manages to pull off its sometimes-clashing different elements (sob story, celestial fantasy, horror, musical) with sufficient professionalism that it all provides giddy entertainment value--even if it hardly seems an organic mix. Apparently the central actor was the preeminent Malay screen star of this era, a period that is probably worth investigating further, as I really don't know a thing about it and quite enjoyed this somewhat campy but well-made artifact. In terms of production values, it's on the level of an above-average U. S. major-studio "B" film of the era, albeit with a few scenes featuring large #'s of extras as dancers/villagers. Or a "cast of hunderds," as the opening credits rather awkwardly put it.
Anyway, before it becomes a monster movie (with a great, bizarre ending) in the last lap, this is an odd mixture of other things. It starts out as a sort of "Hunchback of Notre Dame" thing in a remote village, where bullies torment the artistically talented but shunned protagonist because he is misshapen of face and body. When things go from bad to worse, suddenly he is in a studio-soundstage "heaven" of sorts, where he is allowed one wish--to be handsome--and falls in love with a beautiful elf. (At least that's how she's identified in the subtitles.)
This section is goofy and fun, with musical numbers. Unfortunately, he is not allowed to stay there, and his triumphant return to Earth as a good-looking, elegantly dressed man goes wrong when he breaks the one rule he had promised to observe in exchange for his physical transformation. His punishment is to become..."The Oily Man." Though as I said, it doesn't make much sense that in this guise he runs around attacking innocent women, rather than his erstwhile tormenters.
This is a lively, eccentric and polished movie that doesn't fit into any precise genre category, but manages to pull off its sometimes-clashing different elements (sob story, celestial fantasy, horror, musical) with sufficient professionalism that it all provides giddy entertainment value--even if it hardly seems an organic mix. Apparently the central actor was the preeminent Malay screen star of this era, a period that is probably worth investigating further, as I really don't know a thing about it and quite enjoyed this somewhat campy but well-made artifact. In terms of production values, it's on the level of an above-average U. S. major-studio "B" film of the era, albeit with a few scenes featuring large #'s of extras as dancers/villagers. Or a "cast of hunderds," as the opening credits rather awkwardly put it.
